


Road Work: Growing Closer

by maddiec24



Series: Road Work [5]
Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 20:08:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13748331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiec24/pseuds/maddiec24
Summary: Chris and Toby's relationship progresses.





	Road Work: Growing Closer

The Wednesday that Tobias Beecher had so looked forward to started off badly. He had arrived at Mrs. Clark's house on time for their meeting, only to be told she had suffered a fall and wouldn't be able to see him until the afternoon. He returned to his hotel room and finished up some paperwork for another client. Mrs. Clark's housekeeper called and informed him he could come by at four.

Mrs. Clark was in her living room, left foot bandaged and propped on an ottoman. She was in her late sixties, very thin, with snow white hair that she kept immaculately styled.

"Tobias," she said. "I'm so glad you could come. I'm sorry for the delay. I fell in my garden this morning."

"Well, that couldn't be helped. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. My doctor insisted he needed to obtain x-rays, but fortunately the only thing they showed was that I had severely sprained my ankle."

A dark haired woman came in with tea.

"Tobias, this is my niece, Katherine. Katherine McClain, Tobias Beecher. Katherine will be staying with me for a few days."

Toby greeted her, and then to be polite, made a little small talk before pulling out the paperwork and getting down to business. He then spent the next few hours trying to hide his impatience as Mrs. Clark read aloud each line item and then commented about the beneficiary to her niece. Toby noted that whenever Katherine made a positive assessment of the proposed heir, Mrs. Clark would recall an event in their shared family history in which the person disappointed her, and that more than half the time, that person was struck from the will. Toby made copious notes about the new changes, all the while fending off personal questions from Katherine. They had to stop for dinner, because Mrs. Clark had to eat at a certain time. By the time Toby got away, it was nearly nine. Toby called Chris as soon as he was on the road.

"Chris, it's Toby. I am so sorry. Mrs. Clark... it's a long story. Do you still want to get together? Is it too late for you?"

"I still wanna see you. I can sleep any time. What about you? Is it too late?"

"No. I want to see you, too. Listen, I'm on my way back to the hotel. Meet me there?"

"Okay."

Toby arrived after Chris, having stopped for a pizza. He found Chris laughing with Bonnie, the hotel's night clerk.

"Hi, Chris, Bonnie," Toby said in greeting.

"Hi, Tobias. You need to take this nut upstairs. And you should know, he's been flirting outrageously," Bonnie said, still laughing.

"Bonnie - - " Chris started to say.

"Is that so? I'll have to speak to him about it," Toby said flippantly. "Thanks for keeping him occupied."

"Any time."

Neither man spoke until they were in Toby's room.

"So, you know Bonnie?" Toby said as he put the pizza and his briefcase down.

"Yeah, we dated a few years ago. Got pretty serious. Why, you jealous?" Chris said, arms folded across his chest.

"Maybe," Toby said teasingly, but the weariness was evident in his voice.

"Aw, come on, baby, let's lie down. Tell me all about your bad day," Chris said, holding out his hand to his exhausted lover.

Toby took Chris's hand, pulling him close for a kiss. "God, I missed you."

"Missed you, too, babe. Let's get comfortable."

Toby let Chris strip him, and when Chris had done the same for himself, they got in bed.

Chris pulled Toby close. "Now tell me what went wrong."

"I went to see Mrs. Clark this morning, just like I planned. Only she had fallen and twisted her ankle, and her niece had taken her to the hospital. I had to go back at four. I tried to call and leave you a message, but apparently, you don't have an answering machine. Once I got back to Mrs. Clark's, it was one thing after another. This was worded wrong, that wasn't just right. Then, she had to have dinner before we could finish. I was ready to strangle her by the time I got out of there. And I called you as soon as I did."

"My poor baby. Let me see if I can make you feel better," Chris purred as he leaned down to nuzzle Toby's neck.

"That's... oh, that's great, Chris... but just being in your arms makes me feel better."

Chris stopped to look at Toby, eyes bright. He kissed Toby tenderly. "I've been looking forward to this all week."

"I know, Chris," Toby sighed. "Me, too."

"Let's see, I was making you feel better, wasn't I?" Chris asked as he licked a trail down Toby's neck to his chest, where Chris spent a lot of time on Toby's nipples, flicking his tongue out to lap at each before sucking them as his hand ventured lower to fondle Toby's rapidly hardening cock.

"I - - uhh - - love the way you make me feel better," Toby said.

"Just wait, baby, you're gonna feel great before I'm done," Chris promised.

Chris took his time, using his tongue, mouth and hands on Toby's whole body before going back to his weeping cock.

"This for me, baby?" Chris asked, smearing precome over the head.

"All for you," Toby said, his voice roughened by his arousal.

Chris teased Toby for several minutes, licking gently at the head before taking the whole thing in, causing Toby to arch up into his mouth with a scream.

"Jesus, Chris!"

"How you feelin', baby?" Chris asked with a laugh before sucking Toby back in. Toby only managed to yell incoherently as he shot down Chris's throat.

Chris slid back up the bed. "You okay, baby?"

"Great," Toby said with a weak giggle.

Chris laughed. "Good."

"What about you?" Toby asked, indicating Chris's hard cock.

"Lie there like that for me, baby," Chris said, taking his cock in hand.

As he watched Toby, still all sweaty and wearing the sweet look Chris loved, he pumped his leaking shaft.

"Toby, you look so sexy right now," Chris said, breathing heavily now. "You always get me so hot."

"Mmm, you make me hot, too," Toby said, reaching for Chris's cock. "Let me?" He asked.

Chris closed his eyes and moaned, as he moved his hand and Toby took over, jerking him off with a steady motion.

"Toby - - ah, shit, that feels so good - -" Chris yelled as he erupted over Toby's hand.

Chris had gotten up to get a washcloth to clean them up, then got back in bed and opened his arms to Toby. Toby had promptly fallen asleep, exhausted by his day, and the intense orgasm Chris and wrung from him. Chris was awake a few minutes longer than Toby, watching his sated lover sleep. They had awaken hours later, hungry, and had eaten the cold pizza, then stumbled into the shower.

As they got back in bed, Toby asked, "So, are you going to be here in the morning, or do I need to tie you to the bed?"

Chris laughed. "Toby, you surprise me. I didn't know you were into that kinda thing."

"Asshole," Toby said affectionately.

"I'll be here, Toby. I mean it this time," Chris said as he opened his arms to his lover, holding him as they both fell into a dreamless sleep.

"Toby? Hey, Toby, I gotta go to work," Chris said, shaking his sleeping lover gently.

Toby opened his eyes reluctantly. "Good morning."

"Morning, baby. I gotta go."

"Oh. Okay." Toby got up and slipped on his boxers while Chris got dressed. "I wish we had longer."

"I know. It sucks that dealing with Mrs. Clark ate up so much time."

Toby went over and kissed Chris softly. "Forget about it. It was a fucked up day. Seeing you made it all better." He walked with Chris to the door. "When can we see each other again?"

"I have to help a friend on Saturday. We're replacing his mom's laundry room floor. But I'm free Saturday night and Sunday."

"Okay, you want to come to my place after you're done? I'll take you out to dinner, and you can spend the night."

"Okay. Sounds good."

"Chris, I'll miss you."

Chris hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you, too, baby," Chris said, giving him a kiss before leaving.

Toby spent the next two days trying to sort out the mess that was Mrs. Clark's estate, rewording all the documents he'd taken with him. He shared his frustration with his father when Harrison came by his office at midmorning.

"Well, she's still very impressed with you. She only had good things to say, said you were very sweet, and she hoped to see you again soon. She also said her niece, Katherine, looked forward to seeing you again. Is there something going on I should know about?"

"No," Toby said emphatically. "She was one of the reasons it took so long. She kept asking me questions."

"I'm sure she was just concerned about her aunt's affairs."

"Personal questions, Dad."

"Is she attractive?"

"Katherine? I suppose."

"Toby, it has been over a year since you and Genevieve divorced. Your mother and I were hoping you would find someone."

"I appreciate that you and Mom want me to be happy. But it won't be with Katherine."

"All right, son. It's just that you've seemed happier lately, and I hoped perhaps you'd met someone."

Toby almost told his father about Chris then, but hesitated. He didn't want to spring it on his father at the office, and he suspected his parents would need some preparation for his news.

"So, do you think you'll be done with it soon?" Harrison asked.

"I wouldn't count on it. This is going to take a while."

Chris met Augustus at his mother's house early Saturday morning.

"Come in, you two," Eugenia Hill told them. She hugged her son. "How are you, baby?"

"I'm fine, Mom."

"And how are you, Chris?" She asked, hugging him also.

"I'm good, Miss Eugenia."

"Well, you boys come on out back. I moved all the stuff I could out of there."

"Mom, we could've done that," Augustus scolded her.

"Boy, I am not too old to move a few boxes! You call me if you need anything."

"Wow," Chris said. "Your mom is still tough."

"She's not as young as she thinks she is."

"Yeah, right. I remember when Burr Redding, your dad's old friend, started hanging around, trying to get you to deal drugs. Once your mom got hold of him, he avoided you like the plague."

"Yeah" Augustus smiled. "And remember when we snuck out and went to that bar? We were what, 16? And Mom came to get us. I thought she was gonna beat me to death."

"Yeah, I remember that," Chris said, chuckling. He walked over and surveyed the damage to the floor. "Augustus, let's move the washer and dryer out. I think this whole section is gonna have to be replaced."

They moved the washer and dryer onto the back porch, along with the new linoleum they planned to cover the bare floor with. They also moved out the various odds and ends Eugenia hadn't moved herself. Then they pried up the rotted flooring.

It was starting to heat up, and Augustus suggested they take a break. He went in and got Cokes for them, and they drank them sitting on the back steps.

"So, Chris, how's your, um, romance going?"

Coming from anyone else, Chris would've been offended. But Augustus knew him better than anyone except maybe Grace.

"It's going good. I'm going to his place tonight."

"This one really is special, huh? You in love, Keller?"

Chris considered it. "I think so, yeah. At least, I'm gettin' there."

"That's great. And this guy? What's he like?"

Chris smiled. "He's a lawyer. He's gorgeous. His name's Tobias Beecher."

"He sounds rich."

"He is."

Augustus nodded. "Just remember, he isn't Jason Cramer."

A look of pain crossed Chris's face. "Yeah, I know. I just gotta remember, Toby's not like that."

"I hope not, Chris. I hated seeing you so messed up."

"I know. I lost it for a while there." Chris sighed, then upended his Coke can and drank down the last few drops. "We better get back to work."

They brought in the new piece of plywood and laid it over the hole in the floor, and after they nailed it down, checked to see that there were no loose nails sticking up to poke through the linoleum.

"Okay, looks like we're ready for the linoleum. Where's the glue?" Chris asked.

"In the kitchen. I got it."

They spread the glue over the floor and carefully rolled out the linoleum. Chris trimmed it, and soon they were done, only the cleanup left.

"We need to wait a few days to move the washer and dryer back in, let this set," Chris said.

"Okay. Annabella's brother said he would help me do that."

"Okay, then I'm gonna say goodbye to your mom, and I'm gonna go."

"Okay, thanks. You know any time you need help, I'm there."

"I know."

They found Eugenia in the kitchen. "All done?"

"Yes, ma'am, and I need to be going."

"What do I owe you, Chris?"

"Not a thing. Augustus helps me out all the time."

"Well, thank you, then."

"You're welcome. Augustus, I'll see you Monday."

"Okay, man, take it easy."

Chris went home and showered, then packed a small bag. He called his sister to let her know he'd be away.

"Grace, I'm going out of town. I probably won't be back until tomorrow night. If Ma calls and can't get me, let her know, okay?"

"Sure. So, where are you going?"

"Gracie, have you always been this nosy?"

"Chris..."

Chris sighed. "Yes, I am going to spend the night with Toby. That's his name, Tobias Beecher. In fact, let me give you his cell number in case you need to get hold of me."

"Toby, huh? What's he like?"

"Gracie, I have to go," Chris said, allowing impatience to color his voice. "I swear I'll tell you all about him later, when I have time. But for now, just know I think he's great."

"Okay, Chris. I'm glad it's working out."

"Thanks, Grace, I'll call when I get back."

Next, Chris called Toby to let him know he was on his way.

"I'm leaving now."

"Great. I'll be here. I thought we'd go out for Italian if that's okay."

"That's fine. But, Toby, do I need to dress up?"

"No, it's casual. Very comfortable."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

Chris fed the dog and set out.

Toby greeted him at the door in jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot.

"I'm glad you could get away early. Come on in," Toby said. "Drop your bag anywhere."

"I'm glad I could get away early, too. More time with you," Chris said, moving in for a kiss. "Missed you."

"Mmm, I missed you, too. Let's sit down. You want a beer?"

"Sure."

Toby brought Chris his beer and settled into the opposite end of the couch, facing him.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Toby asked.

"I don't know, tell me about your job."

Toby told Chris about how he hadn't been sure at first he wanted to go into law. Then one day he'd gone and watched his father in court, and had fallen in love with the law, with the certainty of it.

"I admit, sometimes the paperwork gets monotonous, and there are difficult clients," Toby grinned ruefully, "but I still love it."

"That's great, Toby," Chris said. "If you weren't a lawyer, what do you think you would you be?"

"I don't know, a fireman? That's what I wanted to be when I was eight."

Chris laughed. "I wanted to be a cowboy. My dad always watched the old westerns, and I would watch with him. He used to play cowboys and Indians with me."

"My dad was usually pretty busy with the practice, but he always took a little time every day to play with us, or just let us tell him about our day."

"Tell me about your family, Toby."

Toby described Harrison and Victoria for Chris. "They're great, they've always been there for me, but since the divorce, they've been sort of overprotective."

"How long ago was that?"

"A little over a year."

"How long were you married?"

"Five years. Have you ever been married?"

"Nah," Chris said with a grin. "Came close a couple of times, but never did it."

"Bonnie one of those times?"

"Yeah, she was. Listen, Toby, I was just fuckin' with you the other night, flirting with her like that."

"I know you were. But I am curious about why you didn't marry her."

"I realized it would've been a mistake. I wasn't such a great guy at the time, and Bonnie deserved better."

Toby didn't comment, only said, "So, tell me about your family."

"Not much to tell. I grew up in Fairview. My mom and dad - - Margaret and Robert - - split up when I was 11. Me and Grace stayed with dad. He died when I was 17."

"That must've been rough. You went to live with your mom then?"

"No, my mom was... she had moved away. I took care of Gracie until she came back."

"Wow. That's a lot of responsibility for a 17 year old. Is that why you quit school, Chris?"

"Yeah. After Ma came back, we went to live with her and her new husband. I... didn't get along with him, so I went back home. Gracie came back after a few months, too."

"You've been on your own a long time."

"Yeah."

Chris was quiet for a while, lost in thought. Toby leaned over and rubbed Chris's arm. "Chris, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"That's okay, Tobe. It was hard sometimes, but I'm glad I could be there for Grace."

"I look forward to meeting her."

"She's great, a bundle of energy, always on the go. She's going back to school right now for her business degree."

Toby ached for the underlying wistfulness in Chris's voice. He said lightly, "I wish Angus was like that. He's very cavalier when it comes to law school. Are you ready to go eat, Chris?"

"Sure, whenever you are."

"Let me get some shoes on and we'll go."

"We taking your car?"

"The restaurant's close enough we can walk, if you want."

"Okay, sure."

They walked through the evening dusk to the restaurant, Taylor's, which was a couple of blocks away. Just as Toby had promised, the place was very casual, and had a nice, homey atmosphere. They were led to a table in the back and their waitress, Joy, left them with menus after getting their drink orders.

"This seems like a really nice place, Toby."

"It is. And the food's great. I come here often."

"You don't cook?"

"Not anything that resembles edible food."

"We'll have to fix that."

"Oh yeah?" Toby asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Chris said with a smirk.

Their waitress brought their drinks and got their food order, leaving behind a basket of bread sticks that they munched on until their food arrived.

"You weren't kidding," Chris said after a few bites. "This is great."

"I know," Toby said.

"You come here a lot? How do you stay in shape? I would be as big as a house."

"I jog, and if the weather's bad, I have one of those machines in my bedroom. And I guess my metabolism's good. You work out, right?"

"Yeah, I got weights at home."

"Ah. Thought so."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm. You've got a great body, I know it must take some work."

Chris smiled. "You do, too, Toby. I never get tired of looking at you."

Toby blushed, then fanned himself. "Is it hot in here?"

Chris smiled again. "Must be the candles," he murmured.

"I think it's more likely it's you. It always seems hotter when you're in the room."

"I don't know about that, Tobe. You generate some heat yourself, you know."

Joy arrived back at their table. "Is everything all right? Would you like some coffee or dessert?"

Chris answered. "Just the check, please." After she left, he asked, "That okay, Toby, you want dessert?"

"Uh huh. You, when we get home."

"Jesus, Toby," Chris said breathlessly. "Let's get out of here."

They intercepted the waitress, and Toby paid the bill, then they practically ran back to the apartment.

Toby unlocked the door and opened it. Chris propelled him inside, kicking the door closed and pushing Toby against it. He kissed Toby roughly, then pressed up against him.

"You feel that, baby? You feel how hard you got me?"

"Yes," Toby said, breathless from the kiss.

"You hard for me?"

"God, yes," Toby groaned.

"I wanna fuck you, Toby," Chris growled as he pushed Toby's shirt up with one hand, while he unbuttoned Toby's jeans with the other. "Take your shirt off, baby," Chris said as he stroked Toby's cock through his boxers.

Toby whimpered as he fought to get his shirt off, finally flinging it away, his hands going to tug at Chris's shirt.

"Take it off, Chris, I want to feel you against me."

"Oh, yeah, baby," Chris said, pushing up his shirt and yanking it off.

"Oh, Chris," Toby said as his hands went to Chris's chest. "You're so beautiful," he said as his lips went to Chris's left nipple to suck at it gently.

"Ah, shit, Toby, harder, baby!"

Toby sucked harder, bit lightly, then moved over to the right to give that nipple the same treatment as he rubbed Chris's hard cock through his jeans, stroking roughly. He stopped long enough to struggle with the tight jeans, finally getting them open, shoving them down to touch Chris's bare cock.

"Toby, damn, you're gonna make me come," Chris groaned as Toby rubbed the head of his cock with his thumb.

Toby licked a path from Chris's chest to his ear. "Not yet," Toby whispered. "I want you to come inside me, Chris."

Chris whimpered now. He turned to claim Toby's mouth, kissing him with bruising force. "I want you right now, baby."

"Where?" Toby asked.

"Lean over the arm of the couch for me?"

They both struggled out of their jeans and underwear, and Toby draped himself over the end of the couch.

"Oh, baby, you look so sexy like this," Chris said as he stroked his lover's ass in appreciation.

"Now, please, Chris," Toby whimpered.

"Soon, baby, soon," Chris said as he rooted through his discarded jeans for lube and a condom. As promised, he prepared them quickly, and soon was slowly sinking into Toby's welcoming heat.

"Shit, baby, you feel so good," Chris growled as he started to fuck Toby.

"So do you. Do it hard, Chris, fuck me hard. I want you so bad."

"Whatever you want, baby," Chris said as he thrust harder, making Toby whimper again and eventually scream with pleasure as he slammed into his lover over and over.

"Toby, I'm not gonna last much longer. Make yourself come for me, baby."

Toby reached under his sweat-soaked body to pump his leaking cock, moaning incoherently as he brought himself off, Chris following closely, yelling Toby's name as he shuddered out his climax.

Chris rested a minute, getting his breath back, then eased himself off Toby, discarding the condom before helping Toby to his feet. "You okay, baby?"

"I'm great," Toby said, "but I really need to sit down. My legs feel a bit wobbly."

"Mine, too, baby." He led Toby to the other end of the couch to sit. "I'll be right back. We'll get you cleaned up."

Chris was back in seconds, gently wiping Toby off before tackling the couch.

"We made a mess, baby," Chris said of the couch.

"It's Scotch guarded," Toby said, which struck him as incredibly funny all of a sudden, making Chris laugh along with him.

When their laughter was under control, Toby explained, "It was my mom's idea. She said men are so messy, it would save a lot on cleaning. Somehow I don't think she had this in mind," Toby said, dissolving into laughter again.

They slipped their boxers back on and lay on the couch, flipping through the TV channels, settling on the movie Platoon.

"Mmm, this is really nice," Toby said as he stroked Chris's arm, which was wrapped around his waist.

"Yeah, it is. It's the first chance we've had to just relax."

"I know. I hate that we're always so rushed." Toby reached for the remote to turn up the sound. "I love this part," Toby said, referring to the scene in Platoon where the soldiers sing "Tracks of My Tears". Toby and Chris sang along, laughing most of the way through it.

"You got a nice singing voice, Toby."

"Thanks. So, you like Motown?"

"Yeah, and rock, Springsteen, the Stones. Some heavy metal. What about you?"

"I like Springsteen. And the Stones. Not a lot of heavy metal."

They lay there, watching the rest of the movie, turning the sound back down when it was over.

"So what about hobbies, Chris? What do you do for fun?"

"I hang out with my friend Augustus, and my brother-in-law Jaz. Jaz and I work out together. And we ride our bikes together. And... you'll laugh."

"I promise I won't."

"Gracie talked me into having a flower garden. I didn't expect to like it, but it's nice, seeing stuff grow. Goofy, huh?"

"No, it's not. And your yard does look great. I remember my dad always helping my mom with hers. She refused to have a gardener, she didn't see the point. I woke up a lot of Saturday mornings to hear them laughing in the garden. I thought maybe Genevieve and I would do that, but... she didn't like getting dirty. Anyway, do you plant any vegetables? Mom always had tomatoes and squash and stuff. I was fascinated by it when I was little."

"No, no vegetables, not yet, anyway. What about you, Toby? What do you do for fun?"

"Nothing much. I read a lot, and rent movies sometimes. I'm basically pretty boring, Chris."

"Yeah, right," Chris said.

"I am. I don't really go out and do a whole lot."

"Toby, you don't have to go out to be fascinating. Sometimes I look at you and I can see the wheels turning in your head. I'd love to see you in court."

"I don't really do much trial stuff."

"But I bet you have the courtroom mesmerized when you do. And besides, didn't you win over Mrs. Clark? She's sort of notorious about being hard to please."

"Oh, believe me, she is. I still don't know what I did to inspire such confidence in me."

"I do," Chris said, turning until he faced Toby. "There's something about you that puts people at ease, like they can tell what a great guy you are."

"You think?"

"Yes, I do," Chris said, kissing Toby tenderly.

They stayed there, talking, kissing and cuddling for hours before heading to bed.

Toby tossed and turned for a while until Chris said, "Tobe, you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure? Is my being here making you uncomfortable or something?"

"It's not you. Well, it is, sort of. Remember the first time you were in love, really in love, and it was like you were excited all the time? You hardly slept because it was like you didn't want to waste a minute?"

Chris stared at Toby for a few seconds before he said softly, "Yeah. You feel that way?"

"Yes."

"Well, we have plenty of time to be together. Let me see if I can help you get to sleep, burn up some of that nervous energy," Chris said as he slid the covers back, then focused all his attention on Toby's cock.

"Oh, Chris," Toby sighed as Chris's talented mouth went to work.

He could only moan breathlessly as Chris sucked him off, and soon he was coming in Chris's mouth, his orgasm draining him.

"A little more relaxed now?" Chris asked with a smirk.

"Mmm. That was better than a bedtime story."

"Come here," Chris said, laughing, pulling Toby into his arms and stroking his back. "You go to sleep. We'll have all day tomorrow together." As the rhythm of Chris's gentle stroking lulled him, Toby fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> They don't belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made.
> 
> Thanks to Ahavia for beta. Chris's flower garden is for her, it was her idea. Thanks to Haven for beta and title. Edited from original to correct spelling of Katherine McClain.
> 
> First Published: September 11, 2004


End file.
